A Man Unwilling to Fight
by notdonewithyou
Summary: Tumblr prompt: Captain Swan moments and bonus points if Neal is involved. AUish from Queen of Hearts on. One-shot.


**Written as a Tumblr prompt for some Captain Swan moments and bonus points if Neal was involved somehow. For the lovely Yash :D**

Killian Jones had been a patient man. He'd had to be one. He'd gone to Neverland for centuries just to plan revenge on the man—no, the Crocodile—who'd taken his hand and his love. Revenge, of course, that he was not currently worrying about exacting at the moment. After his first encounter with the Crocodile, he'd decided to bide his time and find a way to level the playing field now that his enemy had magic once again. But he found himself being terribly unfocused. For the six months he'd been in the town of Storybrooke, Maine, he'd continually become distracted by a certain blonde firecracker and her young son.

He'd found himself many times trying to get Emma's attention the first month by stealing from various places, his favorite being the library—just to piss the Crocodile off—and the flower shop. And the sheriff never failed to track him down, forcing him to return the items. He found being locked up for the night was worth it for the light brushing of fingers, but eventually, he needed more. He needed to show here he wasn't the _complete_ scoundrel she thought he was, too. That's what led him to show up at Granny's café one morning in that second month. Shamelessly flirting with Ruby, trying to get some information, had earned him an eye roll and gotten him no closer to knowing something to get Emma.

"She likes cocoa with cinnamon," a small voice came from behind him.

Killian immediately turned to look at the person addressing him, but found no one until his eyes wandered down to the young boy with a backpack. He instantly recognized the boy as the young man who was with Emma around town. _Henry, _he thought, _her son._ He knew how much Henry meant to Emma, and he briefly wondered if Emma had mentioned him to the boy.

"Cinnamon, you say?"

"Yep!" He walked up to the counter, motioning for the old woman behind the counter. She walked down, and Henry said something to her in a low voice, before she walked off, getting a to go cup ready. "You're Captain Hook, right?"

"Aye," he said, glancing down at the metal hook extending from his arm. "What gave it away?"

"Well, since you're the only pirate in town Mom talks about, the clothes were a giveaway before I saw the hook," Henry replied.

Killian was a bit shocked by his admission. "Your mother…speaks of me?"

Henry nodded, laughing a bit. "She's always going on to Gramps and Grandma about how annoying you are and how she wishes that you'd give her some peace." Henry leaned in a bit. "But between you and me, I think she's trying to convince herself of that more than anyone else."

Killian couldn't help but smile, and opened his mouth to speak, to spill out some kind of innuendo, but then he realized he was in a conversation with an eleven year old. He was saved from the silence when Granny walked back to the pair, setting the cocoa on the counter. "This one's on the house, Henry," she said, only sparing a glance at the pirate, before leaving the pair.

Henry looked up at Killian expectantly, before nodding his head toward the to go cup. Killian was going to pretend it didn't take him a few moments to realize what Henry was trying to convey. He immediately scooped up the cup and headed for the door.

"She'll love it, Captain," Henry called out before Killian was fully out of earshot. The pirate couldn't stop the smile on his face from getting wider.

That changed once he was standing outside the sheriff's station. The hesitation he had when it came to Emma came from the fact that he had no idea what was going on with himself when it came to her. She confounded him beyond anything in his three hundred years. She was the most challenging woman, had the biggest spirit he'd ever seen, and was as tough as nails. Above all, she intrigued him. He wanted to know what made her tick, what her little niches were.

He was happy to have found something that she liked in the drink that was in his hand. He took a deep nervous breath, something that shocked him to the core, before grabbing the handle of the door with his hook and opening the door. He strode inside confidently, rounding the corner and seeing her at her desk. Her golden hair had something different that he hadn't seen in the time that he'd known her. There were now beautiful curls framing her face, and he found himself gasping at how that simple thing seemed to dazzle him. What he couldn't understand was why she had a smirk ghosting her face.

"I was beginning to wonder if you were going to come in or not."

Her voice caught him by surprise and suddenly he was met by those eyes that were so fierce sometimes, he couldn't believe that a woman like her _could_ be fierce. Of course, after Milah, he'd come to realize that those were the best kind. He recovered himself, moving forward to the door of her office, smirking at her. "What was that, lass?"

"You were standing outside for about ten minutes, Hook." She returned her eyes to the papers on her desk. "What do you want? Are you making it easy on me now by turning yourself in?"

"I actually brought you something, love." He took a few steps forward to close the gap to her desk. "Hot cocoa," he said, setting the cup on her desk. "With cinnamon," he added.

Emma's expression easily conveyed the shock she felt. At first, she wondered how he even knew that she liked that, but then her thoughts immediately went to why? He'd been nothing but "menace" to the town, as her mother had put it. She was sure that he'd only been doing the things he'd been doing around town to get under her skin, and she couldn't say it wasn't working. So, she really had to wonder why he was, of all things, bringing her her favorite drink. She looked at the cup skeptically and then back up at him.

"It's not poison, if that's what you're thinking," he said with a small smile.

She eyed the cup once more before picking it up and slowly taking a sip. The warm liquid slid down her throat with ease and she closed her eyes at the sensation. She gave a small smile before looking up at Killian, still wondering why he'd done it.

"What's this about, Hook?"

He sighed, taking a seat in the chair in front of the desk. "Think of it as…a peace offering of sorts, to show that I'm not completely horrid."

"I didn't think that to begin with, Hook."

"Killian. My name is Killian, Emma," he said, testing how her name felt on his tongue in conversation. It was a name he could get used to saying.

She'd been surprised to hear that. He was asking her to call him by his first name, to no longer be identified by his revenge with her. She took a minute to gather herself before replying with, "I didn't think you were horrid to begin with…_Killian_."

From then on, the hot cocoa and conversations at the sheriff's station became an everyday. At first, David detested having the pirate coming in everyday, but then he'd see the look on his daughter's face and how genuinely happy these visits seemed to make her. It scared him to the core, but Emma was a grown woman who could handle herself. Killian would sometimes regale her with some tales of Neverland, she would tell him funny stories from her bale bondsperson days, and for the first time in a long time, they both found themselves smiling for something they hadn't hand in a long time. Hope.

It was one day that Killian came to visit her as usual that Emma wasn't in her office, but there sat David. His first thought was to assume she was sick, or out taking a call, but then the deputy looked up from the desk, a sad look in his eyes.

"She's not here, Hook. She's at the apartment packing for a trip."

Not bothering to stick around, Killian made his way quickly to Emma's place of residence, not even bothering to knock on the door. He had no idea Emma would be leaving, but from the look on her father's face, it wasn't good. He barely heard Snow call for him to stop before he was bounding up the stairs, having been there only once before, and going straight to Emma's room. There was a suitcase on her bed, and she had her back to the door, frantically rifling through the closet.

"Emma, what's going on?"

She whipped around, a worried expression written across her face. As soon as she heard his voice, she knew she wasn't going to be able to keep this from him. She'd wanted him to find out after she'd left, but she should've known he would show up at the station like he did every day.

"I've gotta go out of town for a bit…" She knew the moment she divulged why, he was going to blow a gasket.

"Your father seemed worried, and even now, you seem distant," Killian took this moment, while her eyes were still meeting his to read the book of Emma. "You're hiding something."

Emma let out a loud huff. "Look, it's nothing. Really. Henry's even coming with me."

That bothered him as well. They were the only two citizens of Storybrooke that had really taken to his presence there, though he'd gotten into good graces with Granny somehow, and to have them leave would leave him alone in town. And he knew that she could easily leave Henry here with her parents.

"Emma, we've had this discussion. Open book," he walked over to her and took the shirt from her hand, throwing it on the bed. He looked down into her eyes, trying to convey the desperation he was feeling in the situation. "What is going on?"

Emma looked down, unable to hold his gaze for more than a few seconds. She sighed, knowing he'd find out anyway. "Gold is calling in a favor I owe him. We're going to find his son."

Killian equated the feeling he had to having someone's hand in his chest, squeezing his heart. _No. This can't be. _He opened his mouth several times to speak, trying to come up with the right words. He just felt like screaming at the top of his lungs until all the air left him. "Emma…" How was this supposed to go? He had to convince her of doing something else. "Emma, you can't do this. He is a dangerous man. He could _kill_ you!" He began to close the gap between them, needing the reassurance that she was still there in that moment.

"He's not going to kill me, because he _needs_ me! And I'm good at finding people. It was my job for a long time; we won't be gone for long at all." She started to notice the close proximity of them until his forehead was resting against hers. "Killian?"

"If any harm comes to you or your lad, I won't be able to stop myself anymore. I've held off my revenge all these months because he has magic, but if anything happens to you…" He closed his eyes.

"I'm lucky he's calling in this as his favor. _You're_ lucky he's calling this in. He could easily ask me to do something to you." The proximity of his face to hers still scared her, so she backed away. "I'm a big girl. I can handle this."

When she stepped back, he felt a sudden emptiness that he didn't understand. He looked her in the eyes once more, and closed the distance between them that she'd created. He simply put his arms around her and pulled her into a soft embrace, the side of his face pressing into her hair. "You be careful, Emma," he said, backing away. He knew if he stayed much longer, he'd start saying things he'd regret. He took one last look at her before retreating out of her room and quickly out of the apartment.

The week and a half that she and Henry were gone was torture. Killian had practically walked a rut into the deck of the Jolly Roger, anxiously waiting for the return of Emma, however confused she made him. He didn't pretend to understand his feelings for her, but he knew there was something there. So, when she returned from the trip with an extra passenger in tow and ignored him when he tried to talk to her, he needed to know what had happened. That was easier said than done when Emma wouldn't even open her mouth to him anymore, not even to scold him. He even tried stealing from the library again, but to no avail. He had to know what had happened on the trip to make her so closed off again.

Finally, one morning, he caught up when Henry as he was walking to the bus stop. If he couldn't get it out of Emma, he could try his best with the other person that had gone on the trip.

"Henry, lad, I need your help again," he said, as he jogged up to the boy.

"You wanna know why Mom's so upset."

That knocked Killian for a loop, but quickly collected himself. "Am I that easy to read?" He didn't give him time to answer. "Why won't your mother speak to me?"

Henry didn't speak for a few minutes. He wasn't entirely sure how to go about this. "We found Gold's son…"

"And that has her giving me the cold shoulder because…?"

Henry sighed. He'd been devastated when he'd found out the news, that his mother had lied to him about how his father had died a hero. "Because he's also my dad… The one that left her to go to jail for what he did."

Killian's immediate reaction was to hunt this man down, take him out to sea, and make him walk the plank. "I'm sorry, lad," he said, vaguely registering the bus pull up and Henry bid him a goodbye. As soon as his thoughts had become a bit less murderous, he tried going to the sheriff's station, but Emma wasn't there. David refused to tell Killian where she was, saying she needed some space to think. Killian left and did his best not to think, but decided to wait outside of the sheriff's station until Emma showed up. He knew she couldn't stay gone all day long.

He'd been wrong. He sat outside of the station all day, the sun going down and the chill of night rolling in, but he refused to leave his spot. He didn't even catch the sad glance David gave him as he left. Killen knew she couldn't stay away forever. He'd eventually get her to talk to him again. He needed that more than anything. She'd become a rock for him, a strength to hold onto life that he didn't know he possessed anymore. He couldn't let something like that go, not when he knew she needed him just the same, even if she didn't want to say it to him. His thoughts clouded his hearing, not fully catching the yelling that was coming from down the street until it was upon him.

"For my own good, Neal? You're going to try _that_? Well, too fucking bad! You may think that your heart was in the right place, but that wasn't your choice to make! Now, leave me the hell alone!" He heard Emma yell from across the street. "You are _not _part of my life anymore!"

He looked over and caught sight of the man, whom he assumed was Neal, trying to reason with her. The hurt in her eyes made Killian sick and when Neal tried to reach out for her, he quickly made his way across the street, coming in between the two.

"I believe the lady said to leave her alone." He took a menacing step toward Neal, placing his hand on his shoulder. "And I'd listen if I were you."

Neal immediately pushed his hand off his arm. "This doesn't concern you. This is between me and Emma."

Killian let out a chuckle. "Then it does concern me. Because as you can see," he motioned to their surroundings, "I'm between you and Emma."

Killian should've expected the punch, but didn't take long to recover before he retaliated with his own, and after a short scuffle, Neal was on the ground, Killian's hook to Neal's throat.

"I should skin you alive for what you did to her." Killian backed away from him just a bit, a threatening look still playing on his features. "Now, you're to leave her be from this point forward, and that is _not_ a request. Are we clear?"

He didn't get an answer, as he found himself being pulled of the ground and across the street back toward the sheriff's station. His adrenaline was still pumping, but starting to wane as he was pulled inside the building. He felt Emma place him in the chair behind her desk as she dug in the bottom drawer for her first aid kit. He hadn't even noticed the small trickle of blood coming from his cheek until he felt a stinging sensation from the cloth Emma was using to wipe the blood from his face.

"I was handling that just fine," she said. It wasn't in an ungrateful tone. She was just stating the fact.

Killian shrugged. "I'd wanted to do something along those lines since I'd found out."

She didn't seem surprised that he knew who that was out on the street. "Who told you?" she asked, dabbing the skin some more.

Killian let out a hiss. "Your boy. I've been looking for you all day. You didn't have to shut me out for so long, Emma. You could've talked to me. We were doing so well before you left."

"Yeah, and then all of this crap started bubbling to the surface again. And not only did it involve my son's father, who I let Henry think was dead, but he's Rumpelstiltskin's son! Henry's father is that asshat's son! Just goes to show how even more my life hasn't been in my control," she exclaimed, rubbing his cheek harder than she'd meant to, causing him to flinch away. She sighed, finishing up the cleaning. "Why'd you do that out there?"

"No reason, Emma," Killian said.

"Killian, we've spent too much time together over the last few months. Open book." She turned around to put the first aid kit away, and when she turned back, Killian was right there.

He looked down into her eyes, deciding to no longer hide what he was feeling. After tonight, they could figure out what was going on between them together. He took her hair in his fingers, lightly brushing it behind her ear, keeping his eyes focused on that task. "A man unwilling to fight for what he wants deserves what he gets." He turned his attention back to her eyes, his knuckles ghosting over her cheek. "And you, Emma, are worth fighting for."

Killian started to close the gap between them, watching her to gauge her reaction. When she didn't make an attempt to pull away, he lightly pressed his lips to hers. It wasn't meant to be passionate or thorough. It was meant as a gentle start, something that promised more to come. The spark they both felt between their lips affirmed that. He slowly pulled back from her, giving her a small smile. She looked up into his eyes and smiled, knowing that whatever they were starting there was going to be worth the trials that were sure to come.


End file.
